It’s as if Andy Sanborn looked at the myriad bad construction projects that have been proposed in the Concord area over the past year or so (a new school off Clinton Street, widening 93) and said, “Hold my beer!” The casino being proposed near the junction of Loudon and Sheep Davis roads is a bad idea. The first reason is that it’s completely unnecessary. Search “casino” on Google maps and you’ll see there’s already a glut of casinos in New England. Besides the “big four” (Twin River, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, Encore), there are over a half-dozen of them right here in NH, within 45 minutes of Concord.
Secondly, there’s already a building close to the proposed site that would work for such a venue: our dying Steeplegate Mall. Although personally, I’d love to see a homeless shelter or affordable housing complex built there. That use of the mall would actually solve a problem, not create one, which brings me to number three: safety and environmental impacts. The proposed location would dramatically increase congestion in an already accident-prone area. Not to mention it abuts the largest tract of undeveloped land in Concord. This area is home to endangered species like the Karner blue butterfly and Blanding’s turtle, as well as valuable wetlands and forests. Do you remember the “fight to save the Broken Ground?” Those of us who care about the environment, traffic congestion, and over-development that lets existing properties remain vacant, will fight this casino just as hard.
Dan Williams
Concord